“They thought they would fire at Israel from Lebanese territory and from Iran, and we would not act,” Netanyahu said. “That did not happen, and it will not happen.”
By The IDF Club
After a direct exchange of military strikes between Israel and Iran, both sides signaled a pause Monday, with Tehran declaring its operation complete and Israel warning that any renewed attacks would trigger a forceful response.
The announcement, published by Iran’s state-affiliated Fars News Agency, came shortly after President Donald Trump called for an immediate ceasefire and said both sides were seeking to end the fighting.
According to the statement, Iran’s armed forces had completed the operation launched in response to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district. Tehran claimed it had delivered a “painful response” to Israel and declared the operation concluded.
At the same time, Iran warned that “more severe and crushing measures” would follow if Israel continues what it described as aggression, including operations in southern Lebanon.
The statement came after Iran launched 11 ballistic missiles toward Israel on Sunday night in response to Israeli strikes in Beirut. Israel retaliated early Monday with two waves of airstrikes targeting military, air defense, and economic infrastructure inside Iran.
In a televised address Monday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran and Hezbollah had attempted to impose a new equation in which they could attack Israel from Lebanon and Iran without facing consequences.
“They thought they would fire at Israel from Lebanese territory and from Iran, and we would not act,” Netanyahu said. “That did not happen, and it will not happen.”
Netanyahu said he had ordered strikes in Beirut after Hezbollah fired on Israel and later authorized attacks across Iran following Tehran’s missile barrage.
“After Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory, I ordered the IDF to attack terror targets in Beirut,” he said. “After Iran attacked Israel, I instructed the IDF to attack military and economic targets throughout Iran.”
The prime minister also pointed to Israel’s previous operations against Iran and Hezbollah, saying Israel had thwarted Iran’s nuclear ambitions and severely weakened Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
While emphasizing that Israel is currently holding its fire, Netanyahu warned that any renewed attack would be met with a powerful response.
“At the moment, we are holding our fire because after we struck the terror regime in Tehran, it ceased attacking us,” Netanyahu said. “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of resuming attacks on us, we will respond with overwhelming force.”
The statements from Jerusalem signaled that while the immediate flare-up may have subsided, Israel remains committed to responding forcefully to any future attacks from Iran or its regional proxies.
